Tari Joged Bumbung.

What is Joged Bumbung ?

Joged = noun, dance.

Bumbung = noun, bamboo.

Joged Bumbung is a flirtatious social dance in Bali which is usually performed in the social events in Bali, such as weddings as well as at festivals and parties. This dance is danced by female dancers, who then look for male partners of the audience to join the dance. This dance is…  accompanied by a set of musical instruments primarily made of bamboo. You can easily find Joged Bumbung all over this paradise island alhtough it is most popular in Northern and Western Bali. It has become the folk music of Bali as it is more secular compared to other styles of Balinese gamelan which have sacred roles in religious festivals. Joged Bumbung can be found being performed at hotels and restaurants though.

 

What is the Joged Bumbung bamboo musical instruments exactly ?

The instruments are called Grantang aka Tingklik which are marimba like, eleven to fourteen halfway split bamboo canes are carved in such a way that unsplit half acts as sound resonator. Each bamboo piece is then tuned to a pitch by adjusting its length which all of them are then mounted onto a wooden or bamboo frame with rubber string strips. Dry sublime tones with natural sustain are produced when they keys are striked with “panggul”, rubber tipped mallets. Grantang is played with both hands i.e. left hand to play the lower scale melody and right hand to play faster elaborated versions. In most cases the elaboration part is too fast for single person to play alone so it is divided into two interlocking parts which style is called “Kotekan”.

Most ensembles are tuned to a slendro scale, except in Northern and Western Bali where pelog scales are more common. A typical ensemble will have 4 to 6 grantangs and are accompanied by :

Suling (flutes),

Kendang (Drum),

Ceng-ceng (cymbals),

and a beat keeping instrument made out of bamboo or bronze.

There will also be gongs of various types and a larger bass grantang called a Jegog playing the underlying melody. In recent years ensembles that incorporate bronze instruments have become more popular and often play compositions from the Gamelan Gong Kebyar repertoire.

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